GROUP TWO: CHAPTERS 16-END

12/20/2010

1.         Krakauer observes that it is not “unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders.” Identify two details from this chapter where McCandless exemplifies this observation. Explain whether or not McCandless would agree with Krakauer. Finally compare McCandless’ view with that of one of the following men mentioned in this chapter: Andy Horowitz, Gordon Samel, Roman Dial, Sir John Franklin.

2.         Do you believe McCandless is to blame for his own death? Explain your answer using two specific details from the chapter. Use quotations to support your response.

FINAL QUESTION: CONSIDER WITH THOUGHT AND PROVE YOUR ARGUMENT WITH EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT. THIS WILL BE LONGER THAN A SHORT ANSWER QUESTION!!!!

Do you feel, as one letter writer did, that there is “nothing positive at all about Chris McCandless’ lifestyle or wilderness doctrine …surviving a near death experience does not make you a better human it makes you lucky” (116); or do you see something admirable or noble in his struggles and adventures? Was he justified in the pain he brought to family and friends in choosing his own solitary course in life?

20 Comments

Scott Tyson

5/27/2011 03:17:52 am

Question 1
In the quote "it is not unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders," Krakaur is saying that Young people will do things that are wrong or dangerous.He exemplifies when he goes to Alaska with the right gear or not knowing what could of danger thier is in alaska.Chris would disagree because he would feel that he is doing it the correct way going into something with the right knowledge or supplys.

Carly VanLandingham

5/29/2011 09:35:00 am

Question 1
McCandless was definitely “drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders,” and as Krakauer says, this was not an unusual behavior for a young man his age. This means that young men want to do something wild and rebellious just because it is looked down upon by their elders. McCandless exemplifies this when he decides to go out into the wilderness of Alaska extremely under-prepared. It is dangerous enough to go out into the wild with all the proper preparations and equipment, much less without either of these. He was so excited to go ahead and get out there he didn’t take enough time to fully prepare himself. He also exemplifies this throughout most of his life by living by his extreme beliefs. He believed, “a challenge in which a successful outcome is assured isn’t a challenge at all.” This explains why he took so many risks to an extreme. I do think that McCandless would agree with Krakauer to a certain extent. However, I think that Chris would like to think that he was the most extreme and acted on this reckless pursuit in an outrageous way that others wouldn’t. Chris and Franklin are similar because they both went into the wild extremely underprepared. They also knew that their adventure could be fatal, but went on with it anyway.

Question 2
I think that McCandless death was partly his own fault but partly not. I do think that it was his fault because he decided to go out into the wilderness in the first place. He accepted the challenge even though he knew it could end up to be fatal, he said “a challenge in which the outcome is assured isn’t a challenge.” Had he decided to take a different challenge, one perhaps where death wasn’t plausible, he may still be alive today. On the other hand, I don’t believe that his death was entirely his own fault because he didn’t intentionally eat seeds that Krakauer believes poisoned him and ultimately caused his death. On page 194 Krakauer says, “… it means the guy wasn’t quite as reckless or incompetent as he had been made out to be. It means he didn’t carelessly confuse one species with another. The plant that poisoned him wasn’t toxic per se; McCandless simply had the misfortune to eat moldy seeds. An innocent mistake, it was nevertheless sufficient to end his life.”

Question 3
I think there are some positive outcomes of Chris’s lifestyle. For example, after people read Krakauer’s book and see how Chris felt and what led him to do the things he did, they can relate his story back to their own life. Hopefully this could show parents that being overly controlling isn’t good for a child and could ultimately lead them to getting as far away as possible as soon as possible. This could also show young people that think they aren’t invincible and what could really happen if they decide to test nature and its power. It shows people how you may think that your actions only effect yourself, but this is completely false. Chris had an impact on nearly every person he came in to contact with while he wandered the West coast. Chris’s actions also affected his family. I can’t imagine how his parents must have felt for their son to up and leave then never talk to them again, then they find out he died in the wilderness. It also had to be really hard for his sister, especially since they were so close growing up. I do not think he was justified to bring that type of pain to his family. I understand that he felt like he needed to get away and find his true self, but it wasn’t necessary to completely cut out the people in his life that cared for him the most.

Scott Tyson

5/30/2011 02:21:54 am

Question2
I do beleave that it was chris's fault the died.I think it was his fault because he didnt go Alaska with the right supplys to last in the wild. In the chapters one man said he couldnt beleave that chris went out there with the little supplys he brought with him.

Scott Tyson

5/30/2011 02:34:33 am

Question 3
I feel like nothing positve came from Chris McCandless life style.He died because he wasnt think and brought a little amount of supplys and did not do any research of where he would be trying to live.I think it also give children bad examples on how to live. It might make kids think if they leave their friends and family they could be famous if they die.I think it was not right for him to do that to his frineds and family.

Taylor Thornlow

5/30/2011 02:35:52 am

Question 2:
I believe that McCandless' death was his fault but then again not. He decided to go out on his own with no experience knowing how dangerous it would be. He knew he had to idea how to handle certain things and he knew that the littlest thing could possibly kill him. But then again, he didn't know the seeds would poison him and kill him. He could've done something less threatful as an adventure rather than going out in the wilderness with nothing to back him up.

Taylor Thornlow

5/30/2011 02:40:12 am

Question 3:
I think a few good things come from McCandless' experience. For example, the way he acted towards his family and about his life led him to his adventure it could give kids the courage to go out and try things on their own and be come more independent rather than staying stuck at home your whole life. But obviously, I'm not trying to tell kids to go out into the wilderness and get killed, I just think that a less dangerous adventure would be good for some kids trying to move forward in their life and reading this book and knowing what Chris McCandless did could help kids accomplish what they want.

Ray Edwards

5/30/2011 02:46:14 am

Question 1
The quote from Krakauer "unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders," is not very truthful and McCandless exemplefies this when he and Stuckey continued his journey and Chris even told Stuckey what he was doing and still kept going. Also is says on pg 163 "From his journal we know that on April 29, McCandless fell through the ice somewhere" This shows more reckless behavior that would go against elderly consent. From these examples McCandless clearly wouldn't agree with Krakauer. McCandless views would compare with Sir John Franklin by being smug and hauter which lead to many deaths.

Taylor Thornlow

5/30/2011 02:48:43 am

McCandless was a perfect example of being drawn to a "pursuit considered reckless by his elders;..". This quote is saying how many young boys want to go out and rebel against those older people who tell them how to do things because the elders look down on doing rebellious things. He did this by going out on his crazy adventure to the Alaskan wilderness with no experience, not enough eqipment, and not knowing where he was going. He had no idea about how to handle anything out in the wilderness.
McCandless believed that “a challenge in which a successful outcome is assured isn’t a challenge at all.”. This, to me, is saying that he wanted an actual challenge that wouldn't be nearly as easy as other things would be to him because he wanted to learn something from this adventure. He always took risks, and loved it for some reason.
I would compare Chris and Sir John Franklin because they both took dangerous trips extremely unprepared and had no idea of anything that they were doing.

Ray Edwards

5/30/2011 02:50:18 am

Question 2
I do believe McCandless is responsible for his own death because he starved to death and he chose to leave a life where he would not of had that problem. On pg 181 it says "When McCandless turned up dead, he was likened to Franklin not simply because both men starved but also because both were perceived to have lacked a requisite humility; both were thought to have possessed insufficient respect for the land."

Taylor Thornlow

5/30/2011 02:51:48 am

Reply to Scott, Question 3:
Scott, I'm sorry but i disagree with this answer. It's not telling kids to go out into the wild and do what he did but I think it's telling them to take risk and go out and become more independent on themselves. Yeah, he was unprepared but it taught him a valuable life lesson about being on his own and needing others to share happiness and become more self reliant.

Taylor Thornlow

5/30/2011 02:54:39 am

Reply to Carly, Question 2:
I agree with this answer Carly. I believe that it was his fault because of the simple fact that he had no idea of what he was doing but then again it's not completely his fault that he didn't know what those things would do to him. This adventure was just to see what he could learn for life not to kill his self.

Ray Edwards

5/30/2011 02:55:40 am

Question 3
In the question "Do you feel, as one letter writer did, that there is “nothing positive at all about Chris McCandless’ lifestyle or wilderness doctrine …surviving a near death experience does not make you a better human it makes you lucky” (116); or do you see something admirable or noble in his struggles and adventures? I believe it makes the person admirable and noble because he struggled and went out of his way to find himself in the wild; when he could have just lived the normal life he had set for him. He could have taken more caution but chose not to and to find himself through experience! Asking was it fair for his parents is very hard to say because what he did was fro himself not for anyone else. It was hard for his parents and I think he could have given his parents more informationj.

Taylor Thornlow

5/30/2011 02:57:38 am

Reply to Ray, question 1:
I disagree, I believe that quote from the book is very true. Boys (especially) do things despite what others want them to do and that's exactly what Chris was doing in this adventure.

Larissa Fogle

5/30/2011 02:57:57 am

Question 1:
Krakauer says it is not "unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders," this is brought out throughout the story. Chris goes on an adventure not well prepared and was by himself. Page 173 "Unlike Mccandless, too, I am here with three companions." McCandless traveled alone, which is found to be unintelligent by many. If he were to travel with someone he might of had a better chance of survival. Also, Krakauer says Chris wasn't prepared. They had a map to show which way they should go and to avoid certain areas. McCandless would disagree with Krakauer's statement because Chris has always wanted to travel to Alaska; he was pursueing his dreams. When McCandless is compared to Gordon Samel, Chris seems to be a not so smart kid. McCandless thought he was well prepared for his trip and knew what he was doing, Samel said that Chris was not prepared for the wild at all. He couldn't even tell the difference between a moose and caribou.

Question 2:
In a way I believe Mccandless is to blame for his death. He went into the wild thinking he was prepared for what he was going to encounter, but he really wasn't all that well prepared. He didn't know the difference between animals, and he didn't have warm clothes. "When I read in the paper that he thought he's hot a moose, hat told me right there he wasn't no Alaskan. There's big difference between a moose and a caribou. A real big difference. You'd have to be pretty stupid not to be able to tell them apart."

Ray Edwards

5/30/2011 02:58:28 am

Reply to Scott Question 1
I agree that what you said showed it because he did go out of his way and it would of went against elderly people, but that didn't happen in this chapter.

Ray Edwards

5/30/2011 03:00:29 am

Reply to Scott Question 2
I agree with you when you said he didn't go out there with the right supplies but he was trying to live off the land, but since he died from starvation doesn't entirly mean that would have saved him.

Ray Edwards

5/30/2011 03:01:49 am

Reply to Scott question 3
I agree with you whyen you said he didn't set a good example for kids and everything, but his perpose again was for himself and his personal reasons!

Carly VanLandingham

5/30/2011 03:01:54 am

Reply to Taylor Question 2
I agree with you that Chris was a perfect example of being “drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders.” He really just did whatever he wanted without completely thinking it through. I also think think he was most like Franklin.

Reply to Taylor Question 2
I agree with you that Chris's death wasn't entirely his own fault. It was partly his fault because he went out into the wilderness very under prepared, but it wasn’t all his fault that he happened to eat moldy seeds.

Reply to Scott Question 3
I disagree with you. I think that there was something positive to be learned from McCandless experiences. Other can learn from his mistakes that proved to be fatal. I think it would scare kids into thinking that it would end badly if they left their family. It would also show them how much it would hurt their families. I do however agree with you that he shouldn’t have done that to his family, they didn’t deserve it.

Lariss Fogle

5/30/2011 06:30:21 am

Reply to Scott, Question 3:
I have to disagree that nothing positive came from McCandless's journey. He learned a lot about himself and felt like he could start over. He took the trip because it's been one of his dreams since he was young. He might not of been as prepared as he should of been, but if anything he is teaching others if they want to do this to be prepared so they don't die.

Reply to Carly, Question 2:
I agree that it was and wasn't McCandless's fault that he died. He knew of the consequences before heading out into the wild but accepted them; and I also think Chris didn't intentionally eat anything that he knew would harm him.

Reply to Ray, Question 1:
I believe that the quote is partially true, depending on the person. Young people do things elders look down upon or wouldn't even think of doing. I agree that McCandless would disagree with this though because he went on this journey for himself and he wanted to do this for the longest time. He wasn't just doing it because elders thought it was crazy.

Larissa Fogle

5/30/2011 07:38:00 am

Question 3:
I believe something positive did come out of Chris McCandless's adventure. Chris went on this adventure for himself, he was pursueing one of his dreams. This teaches that you should never give up on a dream you have, just make sure you're well prepared. Also, you should think through your actions before you actually do them. Chris hurt his parents by just leaving with no note or hint to where he would be at. People need to put others into considertion when making a huge decision or even a little one. I do not think Chris was justified in the pain he brought his family and friends. I believe he went about it all wrong; he should of atleast told them what he was doing and kept in contact. Also, even if you yourself made a decision that counteracted a near death experience, you are lucky. And I believe it can kind of make you become a better person depending on how close the experience was. They could realize they shouldn't take certain things for granted because you never know when your last breath will be.

GROUP TWO: CHAPTERS 16-END

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